You are correct, those are set up to be a 4" lift. When I leveled the truck I needed 10" so National aimed at 8" figuring it would be a lot less trouble to add height in the back rather than trying to remove it.

 

Love this build. Lots of great fab. Diesels rule!

 

Mark good to see you posting up again. Sorry to hear about the wife's health issues. I hope and pray she recovers soon. Looks like things are coming together and you are rounding up the parts you need. Keep up the good work!
I am hoping sometime this winter to get over and see the drummer man and maybe met you if you are there when I stop by. I know I said the same thing last winter. This year I don't have much work this winter so I'll be looking for things to do.

 

Hey Kuzz, good to hear from you.Stop in anytime but I'm off on Tues and Wed. Those days you'll find me in the barn.

Was watching f100today's thread and it got me motivated. Stripped the truck back to the frame and flipped it upside down to button up a few things...wire brushed the frame.

Found a frame crack by the steering box, beveled, welded, ground and patched.





Buttoned up the engine mounts and finished welding up the inner plates in front of the new engine CM.



Finished wire brushing the frame...painted the inside of frame with Chassis Saver less a 1/2 inch of inside edge to weld to. Cleaned up that edge and tacked the 4 plates in place. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to make the remaining plates that will go just past the rear front leaf hanger.



There!!!!.....I did something....

 

Very cool! What is Chassis saver?

 

POR-15 substitute that is available to me locally.

 

It's also a ton cheaper than POR-15.

 

Finally got the frame fully welded today. Cold in the barn helped make things go faster. I braced it up pretty good and if it moved at all I can't find it.



I was thinking 4" square tube for the x members and left space to bolt them in. Ya think I should build a K member or just two separate x members?

The frame will be sleeved for bolts to attach. I would think the K would be stronger but not sure if it's necessary.

 

Sweet! I'd say go for the k-member, just build it to take a bit of flex. Not that that frame is going to flex much. I'm sure you know but too much rigidity in one spot can = cracks.

By the way, what are you using for a welder? If all goes well I'll have an oxy/propane cutting/brazing rig by the end of the week, then I'll be wiring in some 220v and looking at welders! There's a scratch and dent Lincoln tombstone at the local home depot that is real tempting... I really want a Lincoln Ranger but that's way out of my price range!

Sam

 

I'm thinking along the same lines. It wont span that much area and it is just going to make a 3' run really stiff. Probably too stiff.

I have a Miller 212 autoset. I upgraded from a Hobart Handler (180 I think). There is no comparison in having the power available for thicker metals. Just welding 3/16 there is a very noticeable difference.

That little Hobart did survive the 73 build though. I would guess it was 12 years old before I bought the Miller. Still works good.

 

Made one of the XM's today and got the rear axle back in. This XM will be the rear cab mount one. I plan on wrapping the lower side with some 3/16 or 1/4 as this will be a landing spot for a torque arm.

The center section of the Dana is gonna put the upper bracket for the torque arm right under the cab mounting hole. Gonna have to figure something out later for that little prob.

Next up will be getting the front axle in and engine assembly back in and will then start planning for a skid plate. Gotta use my new bender for something cool ya know.





I killed more than a few drill bits and have torched 2 drills so far on this build. Mag drill(small one) and cutters are ordered...enough of that poop.

 

The frame and CM turned out beautiful !! Very Nice !! Keep up the good work. Now I myself have always been a big fan of Miller welders. I have a 25 yr old Miller 140 or 160 mig sitting in the corner, makes me wonder if it still works. LOL I get emails from Miller and I seen and read up on the Miller 212 autoset and if I recall correctly it had a 60% or 80% duty cycle. Now back years ago I was never a big fan of the autosets but from what I read up on the new Miller autosets they really are a pretty sweet set up.
And from looking at your welds it does a great job.

 

With steel, use tons of lube on the drill bit and don't ram the bit into the metal. Take it easy, and the harder the steel the slower your feed rate and spindle speed need to be.

 

Frames looking awesome grinner.
I've gotta upgrade my welder also. As you said the 180 has served me well but, "we need more power Scotty".

 

Thanks everyone....I dont always use the auto set on my Miller..but I did experiment with it when I got it and it was close but found I needed to be on the high end of the setting for better penetration. It really is stupid easy to turn it on/adjust and set fire to something.

Bits get plenty of lube and 1/2 and up are on low speed always...well mostly...usually at the bottom of the hole I could possibly get impatient at times and tired of pushing on a dull bit. Owning a hardware store can occasionally make me not give a s*$#.

Turbo: post a pic of that firetruck! Right here if you like.